Sometimes I like to step away from covering
the
amateur game to check out life on the PGA
Tour. So when I saw the chance to bid on an
“SPG Moments” auction for a chance to caddie
for Harris English in a Tuesday pre-
tournament
practice round in Memphis, I jumped at the
chance to put my Starwood Preferred points to
work. I walked away with a new respect for
Tour
caddies, and with a reminder of the all the
preparation that takes place before we ever
watch the final round on Sunday TV.

Much of the Tuesday action is on the range,
where players get plenty of attention from
manufacturer “Tour reps” who help them
tweak
their equipment. The only problem from a
caddie perspective is that putting all the extra
clubs in play makes the bag pretty heavy – as
they saw the four Odyssey putter covers in
English’s bag the other caddies ribbed me and
told me they call it “20-Club Tuesday.”

At the FedEx St. Jude Classic Tuesday is a
player
and caddie favorite because True Temper Golf
Shafts -- whose headquarters is right on the
TPC Southwind course -- hosts an annual
barbecue for players and caddies called
“Rendezvous on the Range.” The owner of
Memphis’ most famous restaurants himself
was
out to preside over the festivities.

On the course, I don’t think there is as much
“action” as we’ve all heard about – the big
money games are probably reserved for Phil
and
friends. My player English, along with his long
time friend and college teammate Hudson
Swafford and former Duke player Wes Roach,
played a $10 skins game – no carryovers.
(English doesn’t like carryovers.)

Here are a few other things I learned spending
the day with Harris English:

• He is plenty long with his irons, but it
isn’t
the number of the club he’s hitting as much as
the trajectory and distance control that’s
impressive. He hit’s a 4-iron higher than most
people hit an 8-iron, but can easily dial down
the flight and distance of his short irons.

• English’s regular caddie Brian Smith was
following (making sure I didn’t do anything
stupid or run out of gas) and I noticed he
almost always gave him the front-of-green
yardage as well as the full yardage. It
reminded
me of how important that is, especially on
firm
greens or longer shots.

• The one “big picture” thing I learned
carrying English’s bag is that he keeps things
simple. Once he decides on a shot he
commits,
and executes without much fanfare.

• Finally, none of the three we played with
were slow- they hate that some practice
rounds
on Tour take forever and enjoyed the empty
course we had in front of us at TPC
Southwind.

I would love the chance to caddie again, and if
you’re up for carrying a Tour staff bag I
recommend checking out the charitable
organization “Caddy for a Cure” at
www.caddyforacure.com. And don't forget to
look into a Starwood Preferred Amex card -
they
are very creative about reward options as
evidenced by my use of points for something
I'm passionate about. Other "SPG Moments"
include golf outings with PGA and LPGA pros,
chances to attend majors like the British
Open,
and backstage meet-and-greet opportunities
at
various live performances.